[Takumi]

Me and three over travelers booked a flight from Boston to JFK with AA and we had a connecting flight at JFK we needed to catch. Several hours before the flight was scheduled for departure, I was informed the flight had been canceled without any explanation. I called AA immediately and after waiting over an hour for them to find an alternative flight, they finally informed me they could get me on a JetBlue flight instead. This flight left 40 minutes after our original flight was supposed to leave but that was the only option so we had to rush to catch our connecting flight.

Upon arriving at the airport, JetBlue had told us they only allowed one free checked bag per person. Since our connecting flight was an international destination, AA would have allowed us to check two free bags each. They informed me there was nothing they could do and suggested I save the receipts for the baggage fees and then contact AA who will reimburse us for the fees. So after paying the $35x4=$140 fee, we rushed to catch our connection.

After contacting AA, they declined to reimburse the baggage fees. They said since the ticket was endorsed by another airline, all their associated procedures and polices apply to my travel.

In summary, there were several issues caused by the last minute cancellation. In addition to all of these issues, AA expects us to pay $140 because they decided to cancel the flight without any explanation.

[Ombudsman]

On what airline was your connecting international flight and was it on the same ticket or booked separately?

[Takumi]

The connecting flight was Cathay Pacific and it was all booked together.

In fact, when we went to check in for the Cathay flight, they had informed us that they had released our seats since AA told them the AA flight was canceled and we would not be making the connection. They had to find us new seats since the ones we reserved were assigned to other passengers.

[jimworcs]

Surely AA were in breach of contract? I would write to the DOT but would also go after compensation in small claims court.

[Ombudsman]

AA has limited interline agreements with Jetblue for certain flights to/from and between Boston and JFK. This is why they were able to "endorse" your ticket over to Jetblue to get you to JFK. AA should definitely reimburse you for Jetblue's bagge fees since, as you pointed out, if it hasd not been for their cancellation you would ahve paid nothing to check those bags with AA to be transferred to Cathay Pacific.

[Takumi]

I am glad you agree. I have just sent another message to AA asking them to reconsider their decision. I'll keep pushing them and escalate this issue if necessary. Thanks for your comments!